I enjoy gardening in the front yard. It’s great for getting to know one’s neighbors - I’ve told some stories about these encounters in previous posts including this one.
One fairly frequent unfortunate downside is that folks will anonymously harvest… and will sometimes just pull up entire plants… especially stuff within arms reach of the public right of way. Sometimes when this happens I feel violated, disappointed, irritated, angry… but then I often try to think that someone out there who needs it is probably eating a little healthier.
Ripe Green Zebra Tomato
At one point I grew big red tomatoes in my front yard… and they would often disappear just when they got nice and big and red… so now I grow yellow tomatoes! The one pictured in the photo is an heirloom variety called “Green Zebra.” They’re a tiny bit more tart than your average tomato, but they generally wait for me to harvest them. The skin goes from green to a light yellow to a warmer, nearly orange yellow when ripe.
(Updated August 4th – oops – according to Wikipedia Green Zebra isn’t an heirloom… It was bred in 1983 – from heirlooms. There are a few actual green heirlooms: Aunt Ruby’s German Green… which I am also growing this year… but they’re not ripe yet and the zebras are.)
August 21, 2009 at 1:42 pm
I’m having significant trouble with leaf curl on my tomatoes…any ideas what/how to deal with this?
August 24, 2009 at 8:59 am
@John – I am not sure. Are you in So. Cal? Hot dry area?
Even fairly healthy tomato plants tend to look a bit bedraggled by the late summer here. Even with leaf curl it might still yield fine. I would make an uninformed guess that it could be nutrient issue in your soil… Perhaps try worm tea or compost tea (or for an organic product you can purchase: fish emulsion) and add plenty of compost and mix it in next time.
November 11, 2009 at 2:29 am
i didn’t pick any of your tomatoes, but I am guilty. sorry. i picked one guava from your tree. my son reprimanded me, but i couldn’t resist. it reminded me of my childhood.